Seafood companies see big bucks in mangrove crab exports

Identifying live crab exports as a potential money spinner, the Indian seafood industry is all set to rear mangrove crabs, so as to scale up the export of the crustaceanP K Krishnakumar | ET Bureau | July 30, 2015, 12:12 IST

KOCHI: Identifying live crab exports as a potential money spinner, the Indian seafood industry is all set to rear mangrove crabs, so as to scale up the export of the crustacean that commands high price in the global market, particularly in Southeast Asia. The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has begun farming of crabs in the mangroves of Sindhudurg district in Maharasthra through coastal fishermen.

The UNDP-funded project, with the help of the forest department, has two objectives – to provide a sustainable livelihood for the fishermen and to protect the mangroves. It has identified 15 locations and work has begun in Devgud, Malvan and Vengurla taluks. "About 90 per cent of the life cycle of a crab happens in mangroves. So, they can be reared in ideal conditions. Green mangrove crab is a much sought-after variety and fetches a price of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,400 a kg in the world market," said P Anilkumar, deputy director at MPEDA.

At present, mud crabs are reared in farms or ponds in states like Andhra Pradesh and Kerala The seeds are supplied by the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture in Tamil Nadu, the R&D wing of MPEDA, which achieved a breakthrough in crab hatchery technology with one of the highest survival rates in the world. The seeds are farmed by the self help groups of local fishermen and then supplied to the exporters once it reaches full size in around ten months. Live crab exports, mostly done by air from Chennai and Mumbai, are at present pegged around Rs 220 crore annually and has grown only marginally over the past few years.

Once the mangrove rearing becomes widespread, MPEDA hopes to increase it several times. To ensure steady supply of seeds, the agency is in the process of setting up another hatchery in Maharashtra. The crab exports have not picked up in a big way in Maharashtra and Gujarat. "Unlike in Chennai, there aren’t many exporters in Mumbai who can share the cost of booking and sending the consignment by air.

The airport insists on exporting a minimum of one container that will involve more cost for us. The government should allow us to send consignments of smaller lots as it will be difficult to source crabs during the off season," said Subhash Sutar, live crab exporter in Mumbai. Since it takes 10 months to rear the mangrove crabs, MPEDA is also planning to allow the fishermen to cultivate softshell crabs in the mean time.

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